About the Program
Bachelor of Science (BS)
The Department of Plant and Microbial Biology (PMB) offers an undergraduate major program in Microbial Biology, leading to a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree. Microbial Biology focuses on small life forms such as microbes, viruses and fungi that make up the majority of planetary biomass. Microbes play fundamental roles in maintaining biosphere health. They degrade environmental pollutants, supply essential nutrients and chemicals directly to multi-cellular organisms, and engage in numerous beneficial symbioses with higher organisms.
Admission to the Major
Freshman students may apply directly to the major or select the College of Natural Resource's undeclared option and declare the major by the end of their fourth semester. For further information regarding how to declare the major after admission including information on a change of major or a change of college, please see the College of Natural Resources Undergraduate Student Handbook .
Minor Program
There is no minor program in Microbial Biology.
Other Major Program offered by the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology
Major Requirements
In addition to the University, campus, and college requirements, listed on the College Requirements tab, students must fulfill the below requirements specific to their major program.
General Guidelines
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All courses taken to fulfill the major requirements below must be taken for graded credit, other than courses listed which are offered on a Pass/No Pass basis only. Other exceptions to this requirement are noted as applicable.
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A minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 is required.
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A minimum GPA of 2.0 in upper-division major requirements is required.
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At least 15 of the 36 required upper-division units must be taken in the College of Natural Resources (except for students majoring in Environmental Economics and Policy; please see the EEP major adviser for further information).
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A maximum of 16 units of Independent Study (courses numbered 97, 98, 99, 197, 198, and 199) may count toward graduation, with a maximum of 4 units of Independent Study per semester.
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No more than 1/3 of the total units attempted at UC Berkeley may be taken Pass/Not Pass. This includes units in the Education Abroad Program and UC Intercampus Visitor or Exchange Programs.
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A maximum of 4 units of Physical Education courses will count toward graduation.
For information regarding residence requirements and unit requirements, please see the College Requirements tab.
Lower-division Requirements
| MATH 16A & MATH 1A | Analytic Geometry and Calculus and Calculus | 7 |
| MATH 16B & MATH 1B | Analytic Geometry and Calculus and Calculus | 7 |
| Chemistry: | ||
| CHEM 1A & 1AL | General Chemistry and General Chemistry Laboratory | 4 |
| CHEM 3A & 3AL | Chemical Structure and Reactivity and Organic Chemistry Laboratory | 5 |
| CHEM 3B & 3BL | Chemical Structure and Reactivity and Organic Chemistry Laboratory | 5 |
| STAT 2 | Introduction to Statistics 1 | 4 |
| STAT 20 | Introduction to Probability and Statistics 1 | 4 |
| STAT 131A | Introduction to Probability and Statistics for Life Scientists 1 | 4 |
| BIOLOGY 1A & 1AL | General Biology Lecture and General Biology Laboratory | 5 |
| BIOLOGY 1B | General Biology Lecture and Laboratory | 4 |
| PLANTBI 22 | Microbes Make the World Go Around (recommended but not required) | 2 |
| Physics: | ||
| PHYSICS 8A | Introductory Physics | 4 |
Upper-division Requirements
| Upper Division Core Requirements | ||
| Select one of the following: | 4 | |
| Biophysical Chemistry: Physical Principles and the Molecules of Life | ||
| Biochemistry: Pathways, Mechanisms, and Regulation | ||
| Survey of the Principles of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | ||
| Molecular Biology: Macromolecular Synthesis and Cellular Function | ||
| PLANTBI C148 | Microbial Genomics and Genetics | 4 |
| PLANTBI C112 & C112L | General Microbiology and General Microbiology Laboratory | 6 |
| Upper Division Core Electives | ||
| Select two of the following: | 8 | |
PLANTBI 104L | Course Not Available | |
| Bacterial Pathogenesis | ||
or INTEGBI 118 | Host-Pathogen Interactions: A Trans-Discipline Outlook | |
or PB HLTH 162A | Public Health Microbiology | |
PLANTBI 110 & PLANTBI 110L | Course Not Available and Course Not Available | |
| California Mushrooms | ||
| Introduction to Comparative Virology | ||
| Microbial Diversity | ||
| Biology of Algae and Laboratory for Biology of Algae | ||
| Frontiers in Microbial Systems Biology | ||
| Microbial Ecology | ||
or ESPM 131 | Soil Microbial Ecology | |
| Microbial Biology Tracks: | ||
Option 1: Select a track (see below) and select four courses 1 | ||
Option 2, General Microbiology Track: Select any four courses from any of the tracks (see below) and/or the Upper-division Core Electives 2 | ||
| 1 | One of the four courses may be selected from the Upper-division Core Electives listed above; however, this course may not be counted for both the Upper-division Core Electives and the student's track. |
| 2 | Courses selected for this track option may not overlap with the two courses used to fulfill the Upper-Division Core Electives requirement. |
Microbial Biology Tracks
Host-Pathogen Interactions
| PLANTBI 135 | Physiology and Biochemistry of Plants 1 | 3-4 |
| or MCELLBI 150 | Molecular Immunology | |
| PLANTBI 150 | Plant Cell Biology 1 | 3-4 |
| or MCELLBI 104 | Genetics, Genomics, and Cell Biology | |
| PLANTBI 160 | Plant Molecular Genetics 1 | 3-4 |
| or MCELLBI 140 | General Genetics | |
| PLANTBI 165 | Plant-Microbe Interactions | 3 |
| PLANTBI 185 | Techniques in Light Microscopy | 3 |
| BIO ENG 100 | Ethics in Science and Engineering 1 | 3-4 |
| or ESPM 162 | Bioethics and Society | |
| INTEGBI 115 | Introduction to Systems in Biology and Medicine | 4 |
| INTEGBI 119 | Evaluating Scientific Evidence in Medicine | 3 |
| PB HLTH 150A | Introduction to Epidemiology and Human Disease | 4 |
| PB HLTH 150B | Introduction to Environmental Health Sciences | 3 |
| PLANTBI H196/199 | Honors Research - Plant and Microbial Biology | 4 |
| 1 | No more than one course may be taken from this group to satisfy the track requirement. |
Evolution/Computational Genomics
| PLANTBI C144 | Introduction to Protein Informatics 1 | 3-4 |
| or PLANTBI C144L | Protein Informatics Laboratory | |
| BIO ENG 131 | Introduction to Computational Molecular and Cell Biology 1 | 4 |
| or COMPSCI 61A | The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs | |
| or COMPSCI 61B | Data Structures | |
| BIO ENG 135 | Frontiers in Microbial Systems Biology | 4 |
| BIO ENG 143 | Computational Methods in Biology 1 | 4 |
| or MATH 127 | Mathematical and Computational Methods in Molecular Biology | |
| INTEGBI 160 | Evolution | 4 |
| or INTEGBI 161 | Population and Evolutionary Genetics | |
| INTEGBI 166 | Evolutionary Biogeography | 4 |
| MCELLBI 111 | Course Not Available | 3 |
| MCELLBI 140 | General Genetics | 4 |
| MCELLBI 143 | Evolution of Genomes, Cells, and Development | 3 |
| PLANTBI H196/199 | Honors Research - Plant and Microbial Biology | 4 |
| 1 | No more than one course may be taken from this group to satisfy the track requirement. |
Ecology & Environmental Microbiology
| BIO ENG 100 | Ethics in Science and Engineering 1 | 3-4 |
| or ESPM 162 | Bioethics and Society | |
| BIO ENG 135 | Frontiers in Microbial Systems Biology | 4 |
| ESPM 134 | Fire, Insects, and Diseases in Forest Ecosystems | 3 |
| ESPM 192 | Course Not Available | |
| INTEGBI 153 | Ecology 1 | 3 |
| or INTEGBI 153LF | Course Not Available | |
| INTEGBI 161 | Population and Evolutionary Genetics | 4 |
| INTEGBI 162 | Ecological Genetics | 4 |
| INTEGBI 166 | Evolutionary Biogeography | 4 |
| MCELLBI 137 | Computer Simulation in Biology | 3 |
| PLANTBI H196/199 | Honors Research - Plant and Microbial Biology | 4 |
| 1 | No more than one course may be taken from this group to satisfy the track requirement. |
Microbial Biotechnology
| PLANTBI 122 | Bioenergy | 2 |
| PLANTBI C124 | The Berkeley Lectures on Energy: Energy from Biomass | 3 |
| PLANTBI 150 | Plant Cell Biology 1 | 3-4 |
| or MCELLBI 104 | Genetics, Genomics, and Cell Biology | |
| PLANTBI 170 | Modern Applications of Plant Biotechnology | 2 |
| BIO ENG 22/22L | Course Not Available | |
| BIO ENG 100 | Ethics in Science and Engineering 1 | 3-4 |
| or ESPM 162 | Bioethics and Society | |
| BIO ENG 135 | Frontiers in Microbial Systems Biology | 4 |
| ESPM 192 | Course Not Available | |
| MCELLBI 111 | Course Not Available | 3 |
| MCELLBI 137 | Computer Simulation in Biology | 3 |
| MCELLBI 140 | General Genetics | 4 |
| PLANTBI H196/199 | Honors Research - Plant and Microbial Biology | 4 |
| 1 | No more than one course may be taken from this group to satisfy the track requirement. |
Student Learning Goals
Learning Goals for the Major
Students should be able to do the following:
- Demonstrate a solid grasp of the fundamentals of biology, chemistry, and math that are necessary for understanding the more advanced concepts that are presented in upper-division major coursework
- Have the skills to evaluate scientific information as a result of receiving adequate training in statistics, computational biology and genomics
- Have an understanding and appreciation of microbial diversity in various ecosystems
- Have an understanding of the importance of microbes as related to biotechnology and human health
- Have an understanding of the scientific method and the microbial research process
- Demonstrate proficiency in scientific writing and presentation
- Have exposure to an undergraduate research experience. The goal is to give every microbial biology undergraduate the opportunity to do research in either a laboratory or field research setting. This experience would include reading and evaluating primary literature, critical thinking and the development of a hypothesis to test and other aspects of the scientific method including data analysis, as well as oral and written presentation of their research
- Appreciate the relationship between a Microbial Biology major and the community at large
Courses
Microbial Biology
BIOLOGY 1A General Biology Lecture 3 Units
General introduction to cell structure and function, molecular and organismal genetics, animal development, form and function. Intended for biological sciences majors, but open to all qualified students.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Chemistry 1A and 1AL or equivalent with grade of C- or higher, or a 4 or 5 score on the Chemistry AP test; Chemistry 3A or 112A recommended; BIOLOGY 1AL must be taken concurrently (unless exempt by major)
Credit Restrictions: 1B may be taken before 1A.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Biology/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
BIOLOGY 1AL General Biology Laboratory 2 Units
Laboratory that accompanies 1A lecture course. Intended for biological science majors, but open to all qualified students.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 1A must be taken concurrently
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1.5 hours of lecture and 3 hours of laboratory per week
Summer: 8 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 6 hours of laboratory per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Biology/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
BIOLOGY 1B General Biology Lecture and Laboratory 4 Units
General introduction to plant development, form, and function; population genetics, ecology, and evolution. Intended for students majoring in the biological sciences, but open to all qualified students. Students must take both BIOLOGY 1A and 1B to complete the sequence. Sponsored by Integrative Biology.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 4 hours of laboratory per week
Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 8 hours of laboratory per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Biology/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Contact Information
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology
111 Koshland Hall
Phone: 510-642-9999